For the first time in history, the Philippine national elections to be held in 2010 will use an automated (electronic) polling system. At this point in time, our lawmakers are debating on the issue of security of the voting machines that will be used in the polls. One Senator even filed a resolution to set aside 100 million pesos (more than $2 million) to anyone who can convincingly hack the new polling system.

In a country filled with dishonest government officials, there’s no doubt that there are people out there who would do anything in order for them to win the election. So to prevent fraud from happening or at least minimize it, I have two simple suggestions:

1. Use Open Source

Utilizing open source software will contribute to a more transparent automated system as anyone with the knowledge can read and review the code and determine if the system is capable enough or find out if it’s being manipulated.

2. Use Linux

We all know how secure an operating system Linux is when compared to the more widely used Windows. So I think one of the best ways to achieve an extra-reliable hard-to-hack automated polling system is simply to use Linux.